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Abbott's announcement did not detail where the troops were sent,
but some were seen at a protest Wednesday night in downtown San
Antonio near the Alamo. That protest drew hundreds of
demonstrators but did not erupt into violence.
More protests are planned on Saturday in San Antonio and across
Texas in cities such as Houston, Austin and Dallas as part of
the national “No Kings” movement.
Protests earlier this week in Austin and Dallas led to brief
clashes with police who used chemical irritants to disperse the
crowds. About a dozen were arrested.
“Peaceful protests are part of the fabric of our nation, but
Texas will not tolerate the lawlessness we have seen in Los
Angeles in response to President Donald Trump’s enforcement of
immigration law,” Abbott said. “Anyone engaging in acts of
violence or damaging property will be arrested and held
accountable to the full extent of the law.”
The Republican Texas governor's move stands in sharp contrast to
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, who has publicly
clashed with Trump over his decision to deploy National Guard
and Marine personnel in Los Angeles.
Mayors in San Antonio and Austin have said they did not ask for
Abbott to mobilize the National Guard to their cities.
Abbott, who has been governor since 2014, has been aggressive in
deploying the Guard in the past, particularly for immigration
enforcement on the border.
Since 2021, the Texas Guard has played a prominent role in
Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, and thousands of troops have been
deployed to help clamp down on border crossings. An agreement
with the Trump administration in February gave Texas National
Guard soldiers the authority to arrest and detain people for
entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico.
Texas also has established a permanent border base for Guard
troops, an 80-acre (30-hectare) installation that will house up
to 1,800 troops when completed.
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